Hand gun hunting calibers

[billt]

....What semi auto calibers, besides 10 mm are practical for hunting larger game ?....

How about this? It's also chambered in semi auto's, (.308).

[alfsauve]

I liked my T/C in .357MaX.   Achieve 30/30 ballistics using H110 powder.  But it was an odd duck of calibers, so I sold it off.   If I where to get another T/C it would probably be a rifle caliber.  But probably something along the lines of a .300Blk   

[les snyder]

just a cautionary note on older T/C Contenders you might find that may chamber a .308 (7.62x51)... some of the early shooters down here re chambered 30/30 TCs to .308....IIRC the Contender frame was investment cast, and probably not up to a factory .308 round

my Merril in 30/30 was not too bad, likewise the 30 Herrett and 357 Herrett.... in .30 Merril, a handful

[Big Frank]

When my friend retired his old motorcycle helmet we ventilated it with my .357 Maximum Contender. It blasted right through it like a paper target. I still have a few hundred(?) rounds of ammo for it in at least a half dozen different loads but haven't shot it in a few years. I always though a .357 Magnum Winchester Trapper model re-chambered for it would be awesome. A co-worker thought a H&R single-shot would be a good one to re-chamber too.

Les is right about the Contender frame being investment cast. The Encore is too but has an extra pound or so of steel where it needs to be to strengthen it. Re-chambering a Contender to .308 is just asking for trouble.

[billt]

Investment casting has improved leaps and bounds since the 70's. Ruger has led the way in a lot of it. They investment cast most everything. Including their frames for the Super Redhawk, which comes in .454 Casull. Their bolt action Model 77, as well as the falling block action for their #1 rifle are all investment cast. Both are 2 of the strongest actions on the market.

But you guys are right about rechambering the older model Contenders, to calibers the Encore Pro Hunter comes chambered for right from the factory. 2 different animals. The IHMSA was instrumental in getting these beefier models of the Contender built. Those guys pushed the limit with everything back in the 70's, when that sport was starting out. Several of the early guns had their frames stretched, or were outright blown up because of rechambering to rounds that were never designed around the early Contender frame.

I remember back in the late 70's when Thompson released the Super 14 Contender in .30-30. I knew a guy who had one of the first one's. That kind of power in a handgun was unheard of back then, from a factory chambered pistol. It wasn't long after that Remington came out with different versions of the XP-100 in bigger calibers, and it was game on in the single shot handgun world. Today the Encore Pro Hunter comes right from the box chambered in both .308 and .30-06. And from what I've been reading they hold up unbelievably well. I can't wait to get mine out and crank it up!

[Sponsor]

[Rastus]

So in this thread Tom started he said he wanted semi-auto.  So last week when I was at the range tweaking the scope on that XP-100 and the new 17 Fireball discussion came up at lunch after shooting about the 45 Super.  It's essentially heavily beefed up 45 ACP brass that I had never heard of before.

A 45 conversion to a 1911 yields a handgun that shoots a 230 grain bullet at 1,100 FPS with pressuresa round 28,000.  The cartridges are stamped 45 Super...so don't mix ACP with them when reloading.  Brass is supposed to be available from a couple of sources...Starline being one of them.

http://www.realguns.com/archives/020.htm

This is pretty much all I know about this round.  A heavier spring, guide rod modification, etc. will supposedly put you in business on a 45 Super.

Outside of the semi-auto world I have not heard anyone mention J. D. Jones's cartridges like the 358 JDJ or 375 JDJ from a .444 Marlin parent.   

Who developed the Whisper?

[billt]

Who developed the Whisper?

I want to say it was J.D. Jones. The .300 Whisper is pretty close to the .300 Blackout. In fact, I think they can be fired interchangeably in the same gun. (Not 100% certain on this).

[MikeBjerum]

For a semi-auto hunting handgun you can get a .460 Rowland conversion for a 1911, Glock, XD, XDm, or M&P. When you want less power/recoil switch back to .45 ACP. Also if you can't find .460 Rowland ammo you'll still be able to find .45 ACP nearly anywhere that sells ammo. https://www.460rowland.com/product-category/conversions/

I thought this had gone away.  I remember when he had a show on the outdoor channels - An infomercial that was fun to watch ... for awhile.  Old time cottage business:  A guy has an interest and some skills, he works it, and he has a business and we have a product to play with.

[Big Frank]

The .45 Super is based on the old .451 Detonics Magnum case, hence the thicker case walls. The maximum pressure is 28,000 PSI compared to the .45 APC's 21,000 PSI SAAMI maximum. I believe ammo is still available. Johnny Ray Rowland took the uploaded .45 ACP idea to the extreme with the .460 Rowland. The brass is about 1/16" longer to help avoid mix-ups and the SAAMI maximum pressure is 40,000 PSI. The ballistics from a 5" barrel are better than some .44 Magnum 240 grain factory loads. It takes higher pressures to get there because of the smaller case. Also the .44 Magnum can be loaded with 300 grain and larger bullets with energy levels that the .460 can't even approach.

The T/C Encore has an available 15" barrel chambered in .460 S&W Magnum. The performance should be quite a bit better than the S&W 460XVR revolver with an 8.38" barrel.

[Rastus]

I'll guess we will never know what Tom got since he posted his last post earlier today.

I'm thinking he ended up with a 45 ACP.